Eli Tomac on second at Arlington 2
Foothill Ranch, Calif. (March 17, 2021) Round 11 of Monster Energy® AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, took place three days after the series moved to Arlington, where Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Eli Tomac rode a consistent race to capture his fifth podium of the year by earning second place in the 450SX Main Event. In the 250SX Western Regional Championship, the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team had an eventful night with Jordon Smith finishing in seventh, while his teammates Cameron McAdoo and Seth Hammaker finished in 10th and 11th place respectively.
The defending series champion Tomac kicked off the penultimate race of the three consecutive rounds in Arlington, Texas by recording the fastest lap of the first free practice and both timed qualifying sessions before heading into the night program. Tomac’s qualifying time of 50.903 was the only one to break the 51-second mark.
450SX Heat 2 saw Tomac in third out of the gate, where he spent the first three laps of the race searching for creative lines to make a pass and on Lap 4. He was able to do just that along the far side of the whoop section and eventually finished second putting him in good position for the main event.
The No. 1 KX™450 once again rocketed out the gate where the field of 22 riders raced down the long stadium floor all jockeying for position and by Turn 2, Tomac laid claim to second place. Over the next 20 minutes of the 450SX Main Event, the Colorado native closely stalked the rear wheel of the leader and with four laps remaining, the defending champ attempted to make a pass for the lead but was unsuccessful and he was forced to settle for second place as the checkered flag waved.
Tomac: I would definitely say tonight was a bounce-back kind of night. This past Saturday was frustrating, to say the least, but I like these Tuesday races because it only gives you a couple days off and another chance to redeem yourself, and we did just that tonight. I enjoyed the track layout today. I was able to find a good flow all day and put myself in a great qualifying position, and then in the heat race I got second. In the main event, my KX450 put me in a great position down that long front straight and I was able to come out in second place again behind Cooper (Webb). I fought the entire race and tried to find a clean line to pass him and then with about four minutes left, I was going in for the pass and grabbed a little too much throttle that caused me to spin out before the whoops which allowed him to get away just enough before the end of the race. All in all, I am happy with tonight’s performance and ready to improve on it this coming Saturday.”
Words and images: Kawasaki
